Jack Goodman
Category:ArticlesCategory:CharactersCategory:Film characters | aliases = | continuity = | series = | image = | notability = | type = Victim | occupation = | race = | gender = | base of operations = England | associations = | known relatives = | status = | born = 1955 Date approximated based upon the age of actor Griffin Dunne. | died = 1981 This database assumes that the events of the film take place in the same year in which it was released. | 1st appearance = An American Werewolf in London | final appearance = | actor = Griffin Dunne }} Jack Goodman is a fictional murder victim turned ghost, and a supporting character featured in the 1981 horror comedy An American Werewolf in London. He was played by actor Griffin Dunne. Biography was a young hitchhiker who was backpacking across Europe with his friend David Kessler. In 1981, the two were trekking through Northern England, but Jack had little interest in this leg of their journey and couldn't wait until they were in Italy, where he was scheduled to meet up with a woman that he liked named Debbie Klein. Jack and David hitched a ride with a sheep herder who drove them part way through the country side. They were forced to sit in the back of the truck with the man's sheep - an experience that neither man found particularly pleasurable. When the driver dropped them off, he warned them to keep to the road and avoid the moors. Jack and David continued walking straight on into the night. When it became increasingly cold out, they sought shelter at an isolated pub called The Slaughtered Lamb. Entering the establishment, they were greeted with cold stares. They tried to order some food to warm them up, but all the bartender could offer them was tea. Jack took note of a red pentacle painted across the wall above the hearth. He immediately grew suspicious and wondered if the bar patrons were part of some type of satanic cult. Before long, they sent Jack and David on their way, but repeated the warning as first spoken to them by the sheep herder: Stay on the road and stay clear of the moors. One man added, "Beware the moon". As they walked, it grew increasingly dark and began to rain. They failed to heed the bar patrons' warnings and wandered off the highway. Lost in the moors, they began to hear the growl of a wild animal that had been hunting them. They tried to run back towards the road, but David stumbled and fell over. Jack leaned over to help him up and as he did so, a werewolf sprang from the fog and pounced on him. The beast completely eviscerated Jack and he died within seconds. David was attacked as well. Although he survived, he had become infected with the curse of the werewolf. Jack's spirit lived on beyond his death though. As he had died in an "unnatural" way, his soul was bound to limbo until the curse of the werewolf could be lifted. This required destroying any and all of those who had been infected by the curse, including David. Jack's ghost appeared in David's hospital room to tell him about the nature of the curse. He warned him that he would turn into a werewolf in the next three days and the only way to prevent further bloodshed was to take his own life. Jack's spirit visited David again the following day. His visage took on an even more grim appearance and he reiterated his warning that David should kill himself. With each visitation, David grew more and more distressed. Kessler soon discovered however that Jack's words rang true, and he transformed into a werewolf on the night of the first full moon. Jack appeared before David for a third time on the evening following his first transformation. He beckoned him inside a pornographic movie theater in Piccadilly Circus whereupon he introduced him to the ghosts of six people that David murdered on the night he first became a werewolf. All of them were angry at David and Jack gave him an "I told you so", reminding him that the only way this could end was with David's death. The ghosts disappeared as David was about to transform for the second time. After rampaging through the streets of London, David was shot and killed and Jack's soul was able to find peace. Notes & Trivia * * During Jack's second visitation, David referred to him as a "walking meat loaf". He later shouted an apology just as he was going through his first transformation into a werewolf. Appearances * An American Werewolf in London External Links * Jack Goodman at IMDB References Category:Characters with biographies